Meet Victoria Landis, Author of 'Jordan'

Victoria Landis is a professional writer, editor, and artist. A 16-year member, and former board member, of Mystery Writers of America, she Co-Chaired the SleuthFest Writers Conference from 2015-2018.

She's taught at SleuthFest, the Authors Academy at Murder on the Beach, and the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University.

www.VictoriaLandis.com

Interview:

Tell us about your book, JORDAN! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

Jordan is the story a young woman who goes missing for three years and returns with the power to heal by touch. She and a small group of friends realize the implications of this and try to plot a strategy to allow her to heal people without causing a crush of humanity running to her. But the current viral social media world makes that impossible, and within days, the world comes invading Boca Raton, Florida, with hopes of being cured.

Healing by touch is something that fascinated me as a small child. I concentrated like crazy, but I could never do it. That was disappointing. I forgot all about it until a few years ago. Not sure what tickled my brain with it again, but it hit me—how would someone like that be received today? How would that go with today’s viral media? And I realized that would make an incredible story.

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?

With Jordan, I went the indie route. It’s not quite the standard thriller. It’s not quite magical realism. It asks you to believe that a woman can heal by touch, then it’s contemporary fiction with a breakneck speed/thriller aspect that kicks in. I had two NYC agents love it, but ultimately turn it down because they said they didn’t know how to sell it—how to categorize it. I did get an editor at one of the big houses to read it. She loved it and wanted it. Then they downsized her. Sigh. So, I indie published it. But that may be a blessing, as it turns out. It’s been very well received, and I control everything about it, which I love.

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

I knew I wanted to name it for one of the main characters from the beginning. Jordan Crissman is the healer in the book. I wanted the name to be strong and remind people a little of biblical times.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

No, I had several ideas before I chose this one.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

I do my own covers. I’m a graphic designer, and I’ve done many, many covers for others, as well as ads, promotional items, etc. I’ve got examples on my website.

How was your experience working with the designer?

Well, since it was me, pretty good. J I passed the first few ideas to my critique group, and their tepid reaction was all I needed to see. I played with the dove and background birds quite a bit before getting it right.

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

They love it. Taking the time to tweak it was worth it. It conveys the mood of the book very well. There’s impending danger, but the dove symbolizes hope for the future. A few observant folks have even noticed that the circle of bird silhouettes in the background resembles a crown of thorns, which was my intent. It’s fun when someone discovers that.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

Take a look at others they’ve done and see if their style works with yours. Try not to impose a pre-conceived image on them. I can say that the worst covers I’ve ever done (which are not on display) are the ones where the author insisted I do certain things a certain way. Sometimes authors have terrible taste in such things. I try to explain that certain aspects are overdone, hokey, and many look ‘homemade.’ But they don’t always listen.

Also—a cover designer spends hours thinking up fresh ideas and searching for photos, as well as making samples for concepts. When a concept is chosen, there are many more hours of tweaking fonts, colors, sizes, photo effects, etc. I believe that everyone deserves to be paid for the work they do. So pay them for that work. Don’t expect them to make minimum wage. Would the author work for that amount in their day job?

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

An interesting tidbit, perhaps. For thirteen years, my day job was faux painting, murals, and special effects painting. I worked in some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the country, located in the Boca Raton area. I’d be in there for days to weeks at a time, and I’m very quiet, so they’d forget I was there. I saw and overheard conversations, arguments, etc., and observed a lot. I use that knowledge in my books. On my website, on the Jordan page, there’s a map of the fabulous and fictional Teigh brothers’ estate, where much of the action takes place.

Thank you for having me here. And readers? If you like the book, please post a review on one or more of the sites that book lovers frequent in hopes of finding good reads? Thank you!

Drewsilla The Shelter Puppy by Karen Carew Oakes

DREWSILLA THE SHELTER PUPPY by Karen Carew Oakes, Children's Picture Book, 22 pp., $16.64 (paperback) $3.03 (Kindle)

When Drewsilla and her siblings are tiny puppies, an accident steals their mother away. A kind stranger rescues them and takes them to a shelter, where the staff works around the clock to care for the pack of newborns. Soon, her brothers and sisters begin to thrive. Drewsilla has a beautiful black coat, intelligent eyes, and ears that stand straight up.

Drewsilla, though, is scared. She seems afraid of everyone and everything and hides in the back of her cage when families come to visit. As her friendly siblings each get adopted, lonely Drewsilla remains. The staff even worries that she might never find a home. Then, one day, something amazing happens.

The Johnsons come to the shelter to look at another dog and see Drewsilla, who miraculously finds the courage to stop hiding and say hello. All shelter dogs deserve the chance to find a loving family, and this is the true story of Drewsilla — how she overcomes her fears, finds her family, and gets a second chance at a happy life.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

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Then one day, the Johnsons came to the shelter. They had looked on the shelter website for available dogs they wanted to see.  Drewsilla, was not one of them. It just so happened that they would have to pass directly in front of Drewsilla’s cage. As they passed something amazing happened. Drewsilla came to the front, stood on her hind legs, poked her nose out of the bars, and begged for attention. Mrs. Johnson bent over to see her. It was love at first sight. The Johnsons asked to open the cage so they could see her.

Karen Carew Oakes, has been writing for many years and her articles have been included in the Lutheran Advent, as well as an article in several magazines. She is a mother and grandmother. She lives in Helotes, Texas with her two schnauzers Ella and Mackenzie. Her stories are based on true experiences her children encountered growing up.

Visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/karencarewoakes.

Interview with Dwaine Rieves, Author of 'Shirtless Men Drink Free'

Dwaine Rieves was born and raised in Monroe County, Mississippi.  During a career as a research pharmaceutical scientist and critical care physician, he began writing poetry and creative prose.  His poetry has won the Tupelo Press Prize for Poetry and the River Styx International Poetry Prize.  His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Georgia Review and other publications.  He can be reached at www.dwainerieves.com.

Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?

Shirtless Men Drink Free is a novel about souls and the bodies that won’t let them go.  In more earthly words, the novel is the tale of three highly successful professionals altering their lives in attempts to redeem the troubling deaths of their parents.  The story is set in Atlanta 2004, when the state is in the midst of a gubernatorial election.  Dr. Jane Beekman’s mother has just died of an overlooked cancer while her husband Dr. Price Beekman must confront the reasons behind his father’s suicide, a suicide that just may impact the election of the state’s next governor.

In short, Shirtless Men Drink Free deals with how a parent’s death impacts his/her grown children—the need for making something noble or at least meaningful from the death.  As the book cover notes, Shirtless Men Drink Free makes vivid the human soul’s struggle in a world bedeviled by desire and the fears that leave us all asking—Why? 

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?

What an experience to tell!  My novel is a work of literary fiction, so I initially sought the assistance of an agent experienced in this genre.  With the completion of a final working draft, I queried over 200 agents.  Yes—over 200!  The vast majority never responded.  Probably a dozen responded, and six requested the full manuscript.  The feedback I received from these six agents was consistent—“Dwaine, the writing is great and the story compelling; but it will be hard to sell this work.  The market is so tough now, unless you have a connection, a track record or fit clearly into a market niche, the big houses are just not going to take you on.  Sorry.”

Indeed, one well-known agent called to apologize for not being able to take on the novel because: “You just can’t write like this initially.  You have to have a track record of more accessible, popular novels.  Then, you maybe can go experimental with a traditional publisher.”

I have heard many versions of “sorry.”  Being a poet, I guess I’m used to rejection.  Too, I knew Shirtless Men Drink Free, would never be an “easy sell.”  It wasn’t supposed to be “easy.”  The novel makes no apology for its Southern soul, which is not an easy commodity for the market.

Shirtless Men Drink Free is being published by Leapfolio, an imprint of Tupelo Press, which published my first poetry collection. 

Leapfolio is a form of a hybrid press—a creature I had never heard of until Jeffrey Levine at Tupelo Press introduced me to the Leapfolio model. In this model, the press and the author invest time, sweat and finances into the book’s production.  I particularly like the model because Leapfolio allowed me to make the final sign-off on all aspects of the book’s production.  I have a friend who recently had a novel published by a traditional publisher, and I was surprised to hear of how little control the author had over the book’s presentation.  Perhaps I’m a control freak!  But after working twelve years on a novel, I sure wanted the final presentation to align with story itself.

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

Shirtless Men Drink Free is a slogan from the gay bar that has a role in the novel.  I chose the title—even at the risk of it sounding somewhat pornographic—because it carries a strong metaphor.  The freedom within quenching a thirst with no penalties or constraints of the world or body.  That title came to me at the close of the book, following discussions with my publisher.  Initially, I had considered solely Shirtless Men.  But, no doubt some readers would have been looking for pictures.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

I wanted the book cover to be engaging and coy—an image that suggests a mystery, some narrative awaiting discovery.  Of course, one idea was to picture a shirtless man, but no way!  That sort of image would have really carried us into the gay porn world, which would have disappointed a great many readers interested in a lurid story about shirtless men.  Instead, we settled on an iPhone image shot—a serendipitous discovery of a fairly typical man contemplating something serious.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

I worked with the cover-design folks at Leapfolio, vetting many cover options—abstract images of artwork, digital creations, various photographs from museum pieces.  Ultimately, we settled on an image from my iPhone, a photograph I had taken because the light in that moment appeared almost magical in its redness.

How was your experience working with the designer?

Leapfolio was top-notch.  With the teamwork approach, I believe we achieved exactly what we were looking for in a cover.

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

To date, readers have been engaged.  Red seems big this year, more saintly than bloody.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

Don’t settle for less than the “Yes, Indeed!” cover.  I believe the author should have the final say on any cover, although I also believe it is so useful to have others (cover designers or not) help vet the cover options. 

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

Yes, Indeed!  Here are some of the advanced review comments:

“This is brilliant and rare work, as attentive to an absorbing plot as it is to a poetic, chiseled cadence."—Paul Lisicky, award-winning author of The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship

“These characters are all too real. Rieves, as Faulkner, McMurtry and Larry Brown, writes people and story that will worm, burrow into you.  Change you even.” —Adam Van Winkle, Founder and Editor, Cowboy Jamboree

“Vividly sensuous, this novel is full of textures, sounds and smells.  Rieves tells a terrific story with the sensitivity of a poet.” —Margaret Meyers, author of Swimming in the Congo

Published by Tupelo Press joint venture partner Leapfolio, Shirtless Men Drink Free will be published in trade paper (ISBN: 978-1-946507-04-4, 326 pages, $16.95) and eBook editions.  The novel will be available where fine books are sold, with an arrival on January 22, 2019.